10 Years Cancer Free!

It's been 10 years cancer free and life couldn't be better. I enjoy each and every day and am so happy to be on the right side of the dirt. 

2017 - All Is Good With Me, Not So Good With A Close Friend

I was reminded from a recent spam comment on the blog (deleted) that I should post an occasional update to say that everything continues to go as well as expected. I have my yearly checkup with Dr. Seifter, most recently in this past April, and my blood work and other indicators are all perfect. I am enjoying great health and am as "back to normal" as I can be.

The bigger challenge these days is with one of my best friends - Big Money Griff. He's battling undifferentiated sarcoma - for almost two years now. It's a difficult disease and his treatments have varied from surgery, to chemo and radiation. He's back in Washington Hospital Center this week and the prognosis is unclear. We are heading down to see him this afternoon. Keep him in your thoughts.

Happy Days with Griff in Spring Lake - Sept. 2016

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all! It feels great to be starting another new year with Hodgkins dropping farther and farther back in my rear view mirror.

I had my sixth, post-chemo checkup with Dr. Seifter on Friday and just got my blood work back today. It was good to see Dr. Seifter, Dawn and Lauren. Everything is going as well as expected and all my numbers (CBC and PSA) look great. My next checkup in 4 months will bring year #2 of post-chemo living to a close. I will only see Dr. Seifter twice during year #3. Spring 2016 can’t get here fast enough. After that I'm home free!

Jen and the kids are doing fine as well. We went up to see Chris in Providence just before Christmas. He is the pastry chef and sous chef for Fireworks Catering and also pastry chef for The Village restaurant. He's even doing a little pastry menu consulting work. Reaves is working front-of-the-house at a local institution for authentic French bread and pastry and he really enjoys it. And Alison made the transition to the College just like we knew she would - Dean's list first semester. She's having a blast and making the most of her experience.

Life is definitely good.

Much love to you all.

Two Years Ago Today...

Yes I know it's been a while since I posted. When things are going great it doesn't seem like there is as much to say. However, given the significance of today for me, I decided to catch everyone up on progress. 

It was two years ago today when Dr. Seifter called and told me my diagnosis was Hodgkin's Lymphoma. And what a two years it's been. I just had my most recent checkup this past Monday and everything is going as well as can be expected. My blood work is excellent and all other signs indicate that I'm well on the way to being cured. Next checkup is in 4 months. 

Now on to an update of a couple people who are near and dear to me:

Our friend Eileen is back on a chemo regimen due to a recurrence of tumors. She is responding very well to treatment and her health is going in the right direction. I got to spend a Friday with her a few weeks back as her chemo buddy. She is such an incredible person who is always smiling no matter how bad she feels.  Keep Eileen in your thoughts and prayers. 

On a sad note...one of my biggest supporters lost her fight against multiple myeloma at the young age of 75. Janet, my sister-in-law's mother, passed away on June 27. She lived an amazing 4 years of life after she was diagnosed. And I got the chance to get to know her better over that time. Her amazing sense of offbeat humor will always put a smile on my face. She was loved by many and I will miss her. 

Love to you all.

Merry Christmas - What A Year It's Been

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. It's been a while since my last post and I wanted to catch you up on the past 6 months. 

My second, post-chemo follow-up appointment with Dr. Seifter was on October 4. Everything is still going great and my blood counts are all back to normal. My lungs are back to full capacity - it feels so good to take a deep breath and hold it without coughing. I still have mild neuropathy in my feet and right pinky. Other than that, no issues at all. My next appointment is in a few weeks and I expect that will be just as good as the last. 

Thank you for your continued support.  Much love to you all.

Below are a few "getting back to normal" photos since my last post.

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We are all together for Christmas today and life couldn't be better...

Merry Christmas

Merrier Christmas!

We spent Thanksgiving at the beach - there is much to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving

In August Alison and Jen raced in the Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon and both got personal bests and placed 7th overall as a mother-daughter team. Best of all they raised over $4000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in my name...

 
In July, ML and Jimmy C. hosted Sean P., Griff, and me for our first Jugfest weekend of golf, baseball, fine wine and a great steak. We took in a Yankees game on a rainy Friday night, the same night Derek Jeter came back from injured reserve (he didn't play on the slop). We got to see Mariano Rivera (Enter Sandman) close out the Twins for the 30th save of his final season. It was a long game due to several rain delays. The good news is when you have the best seats in the house and access to the Legends Suite it's just fine if the game goes past midnight. On Saturday we went into Manhattan for some good wine at Amuse. Pick joined up with us and we walked over the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn where Rodney and his son Jack also met up with us.  We and had some fine steaks, more excellent wine and laughed for 3 hours straight. As you can see in the photo below, we closed down Peter Luger's Steakhouse after one of those meals you never forget.

Great Friends Enjoy a Fine Meal

Chris graduated from Culinary school...

A Happy Graduate

Happier Grandparents

And he celebrated with a Mediterranean cruise with Saina and PopPop... 

On the way

More Sights

Hungover?

No News is Good News...And Some More Good News!

Hey everyone. I haven't had much to write about since the results from my last scan because there hasn't been any real news. And that's a good thing. I continue to progress back to normal every day. The neuropathy in my fingers is all but gone. It's still going strong in my feet however, but it's not slowing me down. My hair is back and as healthy as ever. I am particularly glad to have my eyebrows and eyelashes back. And my white blood cell count is back in the reference range at 6200 per microliter (I was at 10400 just before chemo started). Below are a couple of pictures from David's graduation last month.

David (the grad) and a very proud Dad!

A Happy Day for Us!

I had my first checkup with Dr. Seifter on Thursday and everything went well. It was a routine checkup followed by some questions and answers. Other than needing to lose a few pounds, I am doing great. At this point I am considered to be in full remission. After three years with no recurrence (swollen lymph nodes or other symptoms), I will be cured. The good news is Dr. Seifter was recently in Chicago at a meeting of oncologists and there's some new data out that's specific to Hodgkin's Lymphoma. For patients who have a clean scan after the completion of chemotherapy, the odds of a recurrence of Hodgkins is now 2% (4 out of 200). I like those numbers! That's about the same as my chances for developing acute leukemia from the chemotherapy treatment. I also got several blood tests done, all of which were just fine. And I got to say hello to Dawn but missed Anna since it was her day off. My next appointment is Sept. 27. And there are no further plans for PET/CT scans.

To top off my Thursday I went to a Nats-Rockies game with ML (Mark), Sean P, Griff, and Mark's dad Phil (awesome tickets Janice!). The Nats won and I had a great time catching up with ML and talking with Phil. It was a great day to spend my last day of spring and something I've been dreaming about since last fall – returning to normal.

And thank you all so much for the incredible support for Alison's Team in Training triathlon drive. Jen has joined her as a teammate and they have met their $3000 fund raising goal already. You are all so very awesome. Thank you again.

Have a wonderful summer. I hope everyone has a chance to relax and enjoy a vacation.

Free At Last! My Final PET/CT Results Are In.

"No metabolic abnormality to suggest active lymphoma." 

No sweeter words exist right now. Translated...my final PET/CT scan was clear! Hodgkin's Lymphoma has left the building, hopefully never to return. 

Read it for yourself:

Just an Awesome Result!

While I was expecting nothing less, it was an incredible feeling to see that result in the final report and then hear it from Dr. Seifter.

As I've stated more than once in this blog, I am a fortunate and lucky man. Fortunate to be surrounded by so many loving and supportive family members and friends. Fortunate to have world class medical resources nearby. And lucky to be able to get over this "speed bump" in my life with nothing more than a few minor complications. While my chances of relapse are small and the chances of another cancer due to the chemo regimen are small as well (1-in-200), I am looking forward to being deemed as "cured" a few years from now.

Thank you all...and much love to each and every one of you. And thanks so much to everyone who has supported Alison's triathlon quest. She met her goal in less than 3 days - you all are awesome. 

PS...I'll continue to send out periodic updates on the blog. I will see Dr. Seifter on June 21 for my first 3-month check up.